Cops Hit the Party Lights a Dozen Times

An East Hampton Town police officer sent to the scene of an accident a few minutes after midnight on June 3 ended up arresting the driver, Jose M. Tacuri, 25, of Amagansett, charging him with driving while intoxicated.
According to the police report, Mr. Tacuri was standing near a 2000 Toyota with its key still in the ignition and the engine running. It had crashed into a tree off Spring Close Highway in East Hampton.
When Mr. Tacuri saw the officer, the report said, he began to walk away, but the officer caught up with him and had him perform roadside sobriety tests, including a breath test. Mr. Tacuri allegedly failed all of them.
Police said a check of Mr. Tacuri’s record revealed that earlier this year he had been convicted of aggravated driving while intoxicated, meaning his blood alcohol level was .18 or higher. He was arrested and taken to headquarters in Wainscott, and once there he reportedly refused several requests for an additional breath test.
His bail was set later that day at $50,000, and he was turned over to Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department officers to be taken to the county jail.
On the afternoon of June 11, an officer caught up with a 2000 Chevy after it blew through a stop sign on South Edgemere Street in Montauk and sped onto the beach, where it got stuck in the sand, police said.
The officer asked for the driver’s license but was handed one that appeared to belong to the passenger, Manuel Ramos. Police said the driver then gave the officer a Mexican photo ID card, which identified him as Martin Gomez-Velasco. There was an open bottle of Stella Artois in the Chevy’s cup holder, according to the report. The officer had Mr. Gomez-Velasco, who is 26 and lives in Brooklyn, take a breath test back at headquarters, and he was subsequently charged with aggravated D.W.I. Bail was set at $1,000 the next morning.
At about 1 a.m. on June 12, an officer spotted a 1966 Triumph TR4 weaving back and forth across the lane markings on Flamingo Avenue between the train station and the docks in Montauk, police said.
The officer pulled the sports car over, had the driver, Antoni Ghoshi, 49, of East Hampton, perform the standard D.W.I. tests, which he allegedly failed, and then took him to headquarters, where a breath test was said to have registered a .18 blood alcohol reading. Charged with aggravated D.W.I., he had his bail set at $500 later that day.
An 18-year-old East Hampton woman was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated on Daniel’s Hole Road in Wainscott near East Hampton Airport on June 12 at about 4:30 a.m. Because she is under 19, police did not release her identity.
Carlos Nieves of East Hampton was arrested and charged with D.W.I. on June 9 at about 2:30 a.m. The police report said that an officer saw a 2002 Dodge pickup truck driven by Mr. Nieves weave badly on North Main Street near Talmage Lane in East Hampton, go off the shoulder, and strike the curb.
After being pulled over, the driver, who is 23, jumped out and stumbled toward the center of the road, almost falling down, before stumbling forward toward the front of the truck, apparently trying to get away, as did the passenger of the vehicle, Ivan Ruiz, also of East Hampton, police said.
Two other officers arrived to help as the initial officer stopped Mr. Nieves, who allegedly gave his name as Carlos Illescas. He failed sobriety tests and at headquarters refused to take a breath test, according to police.
Because Mr. Nieves has roots in the community, he was released without bail and will be in court at a future date.
At 6:30 a.m. on June 13 in Montauk, an officer allegedly saw a 2008 Honda drive through the Circle and turn onto Montauk Highway, failing to stop at a stop sign as it did so. The driver, Mariano J. Lepori, 23, of Montevallo, Ala., was subsequently arrested and taken to headquarters, where he failed a breath test with a .13 reading, police said. Bail was later set at $500.
Megan Butler, a 21-year-old Sag Harbor resident, was arrested in Montauk on Sunday a little after 3 a.m. and charged with D.W.I.
According to police, Ms. Butler was headed east on Montauk Highway near West Lake Drive in a 2005 Mercury Mountaineer and veering back and forth across the road. When an officer tried to pull her over, she reportedly did not immediately come to a stop. After she did, she had her driver’s license in her hand when the officer approached. But when asked for her registration and insurance card, she repeatedly shuffled through papers on her lap, not seeing that the registration was right on top of the stack, police said.
The officer asked her to step out of the car, which she did with difficulty, grabbing the side of the car for support, police said. At headquarters, a breath test allegedly recorded her blood alcohol level at .17. She was released without bail that same day because of her ties to the area.
Also in Montauk on Sunday, James R. Westfall, 24, of East Hampton was arrested near the Sloppy Tuna restaurant on South Emerson Avenue a little before 2 a.m. According to the police report, Mr. Westfall was in a 1999 Jeep near the intersection with South Edison Street, blocking traffic.
An officer turned on his siren to get Mr. Westfall to move the Jeep, but instead Mr. Westfall got out of the vehicle, reportedly appearing unsteady on his feet. After performing poorly on roadside sobriety tests, police said, he refused breath tests at the scene and at headquarters. The police report said he was extremely uncooperative. He was released without bail later that day.

Red Light, Green Light
Amber E. Gregg, who is 22 and lives in Bridgehampton, was arrested on Friday at about 6:30 a.m. in East Hampton and charged with D.W.I.
An officer saw Ms. Gregg, who was driving southwest on Stephen Hand’s Path, stop at a red light at the intersection with Route 114. The light turned green, but Ms. Gregg’s car did not move, remaining stationary until the light turned red again, police said, at which time she pulled into the intersection but stopped in the middle of it. The light turned green, the car did not move, and then, with the light red, Ms. Gregg reportedly began to drive away.
The officer pulled her over near Squire’s Path and immediately smelled alcohol and marijuana, according to the report. The officer found no marijuana in the car, but at the police station allegedly found a bag of it in her handbag. She was charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana. Bail was later set at $300.
East Hampton Village police arrested James S.W. Hoffman, a 26-year-old New York City resident, and charged him with driving while intoxicated on Sunday at about 2 a.m. He was doing 50 miles per hour in a 2011 Chevy Impala in a 30-mile-per-hour zone on Main Street when he was pulled over, police said.
After being arrested, police allegedly found marijuana in his pocket, and in addition to D.W.I., he was charged with possession of marijuana. He was released without bail later that morning.
Also in the village, Luis A. Villa-Ruiz was arrested and charged with D.W.I. and driving without a license last Thursday around 2 a.m. An officer pulled over Mr. Villa-Ruiz on Woods Lane after allegedly seeing his 2002 Nissan Altima veer repeatedly back and forth on the road before eventually driving onto the shoulder.
As he searched through his papers for ID, Mr. Villa-Ruiz, who is 43 and lives in East Hampton, told the officer that he did not have a license, police reported. In addition to D.W.I., he was charged with two moving violations. Bail was set at $750 that same day.
A Sag Harbor Village officer, stopped at the intersection of East Union and Division Streets a little before midnight last Thursday, responded to a tip from a passer-by that a dark-colored Range Rover had just driven by erratically.
The officer tracked the 2008 vehicle down on Division Street and followed it as the driver made two turns and ended up on the bridge to North Haven after having swerved several times into the middle of the road and then onto the shoulder, police said.
The officer stopped the Range Rover on Route 114 near Fahys Road on North Haven and spoke with the driver, Jillian A. Branam, 38, of Sag Harbor, who slurred her speech badly, according to the report. She was taken to headquarters back on Division Street, where she failed a breath test, according to police.

About the Author

T.E. McMorrow began freelancing for The Star in 2009, before coming on staff, full time, at the end of 2011. He is a member of the Drama Desk in New York. His book, “Nutcracker in Harlem,” illustrated by James Ransome, is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2017 by HarperCollins children’s division.